Could Praxair, Inc. Decline After Today’s Tip From Option Traders?

October 10, 2016October 10, 2016Winifred Garcia

In today’s session Praxair, Inc. (PX) registered an unusually high (400) contracts volume of call trades. Someone, most probably a professional was a very active buyer of the October, 2016 call, expecting serious PX increase. With 400 contracts traded and 16894 open interest for the Oct, 16 contract, it seems this is a quite bullish bet. The option with symbol: PX161021C00120000 closed last at: $2.2 or 15.8% up. About 135,115 shares traded hands. Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) has risen 9.45% since March 7, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 1.86% the S&P500.

Analysts await Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) to report earnings on November, 3. They expect $1.41 EPS, down 3.42% or $0.05 from last year’s $1.46 per share. PX’s profit will be $395.46 million for 21.15 P/E if the $1.41 EPS becomes a reality. After $1.39 actual EPS reported by Praxair, Inc. for the previous quarter, Wall Street now forecasts 1.44% EPS growth.

Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) Ratings Coverage

Out of 15 analysts covering Praxair (NYSE:PX), 3 rate it a “Buy”, 2 “Sell”, while 10 “Hold”. This means 20% are positive. $135 is the highest target while $103 is the lowest. The $119.08 average target is -0.18% below today’s ($119.3) stock price. Praxair has been the topic of 20 analyst reports since August 12, 2015 according to StockzIntelligence Inc. The firm has “Sell” rating given on Wednesday, August 12 by Zacks. The stock has “Equal Weight” rating given by Barclays Capital on Monday, November 2. KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded the stock to “Sector Weight” rating in Tuesday, February 2 report. The stock has “Accumulate” rating given by Seaport Global Securities on Wednesday, January 13. Barclays Capital maintained it with “Equal Weight” rating and $120 target price in Monday, May 2 report. The rating was downgraded by Deutsche Bank to “Hold” on Monday, April 4. The stock of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) has “Sell” rating given on Friday, August 28 by Zacks. The stock of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) earned “Neutral” rating by Credit Suisse on Thursday, March 24. CLSA maintained it with “Outperform” rating and $125 target price in Tuesday, August 2 report. Citigroup maintained the shares of PX in a report on Monday, April 18 with “Neutral” rating.

According to Zacks Investment Research, “Praxair is one of the largest industrial gases companies in North and South America. Praxair’s primary products for its industrial gases business are atmospheric gases and process gases. The company’s surface technology segment, operated through Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., supplies wear-resistant and high-temperature corrosion-resistant metallic and ceramic coatings and powders. The company also designs, engineers and builds equipment that produces industrial gases through its global supply systems.”

Insitutional Activity: The institutional sentiment increased to 1.17 in 2016 Q2. Its up 0.24, from 0.93 in 2016Q1. The ratio improved, as 53 funds sold all Praxair, Inc. shares owned while 258 reduced positions. 59 funds bought stakes while 305 increased positions. They now own 235.46 million shares or 6.33% less from 251.38 million shares in 2016Q1.
Tcw Group accumulated 22,966 shares or 0.02% of the stock. Invesco Ltd, a Georgia-based fund reported 1.37 million shares. Wendell David Associates Inc reported 39,344 shares or 0.86% of all its holdings. The Kentucky-based Atlas Browninc has invested 0.15% in Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX). Deere holds 5,568 shares or 0.03% of its portfolio. Livingston Asset Mngmt (Operating As Southport Capital Management) has 357 shares for 0.02% of their US portfolio. Cambridge Trust has invested 1.95% of its portfolio in Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX). Boston Private Wealth Ltd Limited Liability Company reported 49,821 shares or 0.23% of all its holdings. Jfs Wealth Advsr Ltd Liability Corp has 0.01% invested in the company for 300 shares. Balyasny Asset Mngmt Limited Com holds 0.12% of its portfolio in Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) for 159,443 shares. Moreover, Middleton Ma has 0.08% invested in Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) for 3,088 shares. Cap Ww Invsts has 29.78 million shares for 0.9% of their US portfolio. Pillar Pacific Capital Management Ltd Llc last reported 37,960 shares in the company. Barrett Asset Management Ltd accumulated 0% or 300 shares. Bluecrest Cap Ltd has invested 0.14% of its portfolio in Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX).

Insider Transactions: Since May 6, 2016, the stock had 0 buys, and 2 insider sales for $3.60 million net activity. $2.85M worth of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) shares were sold by Menezes Eduardo F. WOOD ROBERT L sold $748,927 worth of stock or 6,550 shares.

Praxair, Inc. is an industrial gas supplier in North and South America, Asia and Europe. The company has a market cap of $33.46 billion. The Company’s activities are organized into five divisions, four of which have been determined on a geographic basis of segmentation: North America, Europe, South America and Asia. It has a 21.7 P/E ratio. In addition, the Company operates its surface technologies business through its subsidiary, Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., which represents the fifth segment.

PX Company Profile

Praxair, Inc., incorporated on October 26, 1988, is an industrial gas supplier in North and South America, Asia and Europe. The Company’s activities are organized into five divisions, four of which have been determined on a geographic basis of segmentation: North America, Europe, South America and Asia. In addition, the Company operates its surface technologies business through its subsidiary, Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., which represents the fifth segment. The Company’s products in its industrial gases business include atmospheric gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, rare gases) and process gases (carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, acetylene). The Firm also designs, engineers and manufactures equipment that produces industrial gases primarily for internal use. The Company’s Surface Technologies segment, operated through Praxair Surface Technologies, Inc., supplies wear-resistant and high-temperature corrosion-resistant metallic and ceramic coatings and powders. The Firm serves a group of industries, including healthcare, petroleum refining, computer-chip manufacturing, beverage carbonation, fiber-optics, steel making, aerospace, chemicals and water treatment.

More recent Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) news were published by: Businesswire.com which released: “Praxair Starts Up New Hydrogen Plant in Peru” on October 04, 2016. Also Businesswire.com published the news titled: “Praxair Announces Third Quarter 2016 Earnings and Conference Call Schedule” on October 03, 2016. Businesswire.com‘s news article titled: “Praxair, Inc. and Linde AG Terminate Preliminary Talks about a Potential Merger” with publication date: September 12, 2016 was also an interesting one.